Calheta Beach

Calheta Beach is Madeira's original artificial golden sand beach, opened in 2004 with sand brought in from Morocco. Two crescent coves sit inside concrete breakwaters that keep the water calm and swimmable — rare comfort on an island of pebble shores.

Calheta is on the southwest coast, about 30 minutes from Funchal via the VE3 expressway, with parking above the marina. The beach has sunbed rentals, showers, and a row of restaurants along the marina wall. The Savoy Saccharum hotel sits right above the eastern cove.

Choose Calheta when you want an easy, guaranteed beach day: the sunniest microclimate on the island, calm water for children, and sunset over the Atlantic straight down the bay. It gets busy on weekends — weekdays are quieter.